Sponsors

A main sponsor of the entire festival, LG approached the event with kid-friendly activities like a sock toss to showcase its new laundry machines. Additionally, to promote the new LG dishwasher, the electronics brand had several mom bloggers partake in a dish-loading challenge.

In the meatpacking district—the New York City Wine & Food Festival's hub—Illy set up a public welcome center. The coffee brand's spot had red and white seating, coffee stations, book signings by Food Network stars, and a "Give Happilly Coffee Amnesty," in which festival-goers could donate coffee in exchange for a complimentary can of Illy MonoArabica.

Hosted by Whoopi Goldberg, the fried chicken event set up shop at Yotel on Thursday night and had several eateries like the Brooklyn Star offer fried chicken and waffles served in waffle cones. Inside the hotel's fourth-floor space, guests were treated to tunes by DJ Questlove, while the terrace offered a view of the skyline and colorful decorations to the tenting structure.

The photo op from Shake & Bake sponsor Cape Cod Potato Chips came complete with seagulls—to match the brand's imagery—and invited guests to post pics to Instagram. A screen at the event displayed images marked with the hashtag #Capeonthego, and guests who posted their photos scored a free T-shirt and chips.

A cocktail-focused event at the Public Theater on Thursday was hosted by in-house culinary expert Andrew Caramellini. As guests strolled through three different spaces—the Lobby, Joe’s Pub, and new lounge the Library—they could sample various cocktails, mini crab sandwiches, and margarita marshmallow pops (pictured).

In the basement space of 82 Mercer, the festival's casino sponsor the Borgata created a lounge space that let attendees play casino games, snap pics in a photo booth, and paint the interactive graffiti wall, which included chocolate "paint" and "spray paint." The activation was open for three days, running from Thursday to Saturday.

This year, the festival's signature Burger Bash moved from the Tobacco Warehouse in Brooklyn to Basketball City at Pier 36. Rachael Ray returned to host the affair, which was sponsored by Blue Moon and Pat LaFrieda Meats, and saw servers on roller skates pass around mini treats.

Hosted by Rocco DiSpirito, who was celebrating the release of his book Now Eat This! Italian, Thrillist's event on Friday served all types of barbecue complemented by take-home bags of brownies from Fat Witch. To add branding to the Hudson Terrace, the lifestyle Web site placed its logo within the chandelier and on the side of the building.

Friday's late-night dessert showcase doubled as the festival's fifth anniversary celebration, and, as a nod to this and title sponsor Godiva, a gilded Lady Godiva rolled around 82 Mercer handing out birthday hats.

True to tradition of the event, Godiva decorated the entire three-room space with chocolate touches including a chocolate photo booth background, chocolate-studded vases, and columns lined with the sweet stuff.

Echoing the Absolut Citron-clad bar, lush floral arrangements with citrus details dotted bars and tabletops throughout the venue.

Some 1,200 feet of confetti garland hung from the ceiling, matching the chair decorations.

A gold background by Confetti System served as a festive backdrop for photos.

Hosted by Guy Fieri, Target's kid-friendly, educational event on Saturday filled Basketball City with activities like a Carnival-sponsored obstacle course, Zumba lessons, and a giant foosball table. Children in attendance took home bags filled with healthy snacks.

Healthy snack stations dotted the perimeter of the room for a break from the activities. The Indian Harvest table served soothing soup from a festive pumpkin display.

The seafood-focused Saturday afternoon event, hosted by Hook, Line & Dinner star Ben Sargent was presented by the Corcoran Group at the Standard's Biergarten. The Lobster Place donated approximately 14,000 oysters for the outing in addition to several restaurants and oyster farmers setting up shop for the tasting. Some stations even offered to teach attendees how to shuck.

Nautical displays were featured throughout the venue as guests strolled from table to table sampling bites from eateries like the Mermaid Oyster Bar and Ed’s Chowder House, including oysters with gazpacho, mini oyster potpies, and French fries.

The Hudson River Park's Pier 57 was overflowing with stations of food and drink for the tasting on Saturdy and Sunday, as well as KitchenAid culinary demonstrations with a rotating roster of Food Network personalities taking the stage kitchen. As a sponsor, Delta hosted a lounge where attendees could take a breather by relaxing in the airline’s new business elite seats and sample sommelier-selected wine served in-flight. Also available for testing was Delta’s Touch the Future interactive app, which allowed guests to select their travel priorities such as "shopping" or "foodie travel" and see which locations the airline offers fit their travel must-have list.

Buick teamed up with online chocolatier Chocomize to promote their affordable luxuries mindset. Grand Tasting attendees were invited to sample chocolate bar ingredients—including chocolate and sea salt or chocolate and red pepper—then hop on an iPad and place an order for the customized treat to be delivered directly to their home.

Sponsored by Creekstone Farms and hosted by Bobby Flay, Saturday night's Tacos & Tequila filled the three-room space at 82 Mercer with tacos of all kinds. Many stations had simple displays of ingredients used and various signs on the walls that read, "Tacos, yo!"

Held at the Highline Stages, presented by the Corcoran Group, and hosted by Food Network’s Sandwich King Jeff Mauro, Sunday's Sandwich Showdown saw attendees sample 15 different sandwiches, including pastrami and lobster rolls. Each attendee was given a wooden coin as they entered, which was used to vote for the event's best sandwich.

The event offered a fall foliage decor theme with sunflower bouquets, red and orange leaf displays, and a scenic step-and-repeat. Funny signage around the venue paid homage to the sandwich through tweaked song lyrics, like "I am sandwich, hear me roar," "spread some mayo on me," and "for the love of the sandwich."

Procter & Gamble took to the London Olympics for a mom-focused campaign with an activation in the form of a 65,000-square-foot “home away from home” for the mothers of competing athlete.

For its XO Cafe Noir party in 2011, Patrón tapped Abel McCallister Designs to create lamps made from empty liquor bottles and fringed lampshades.

As part of Brooklyn’s Northside Festival in June, whiskey brand Jameson hosted the Black Barrel Lounge, where guests could enjoy music from indie artists and get the chance to experience a demonstration by Master Cooper (aka barrel maker) Ger Buckley. Accordingly, the space was decorated with chandeliers made from deconstructed flame-charred Jameson Black barrels.

In June, Target celebrated the launch of its fashion and home accessories collection with charity organization Feed by hosting a rustic-Americana-themed dinner party in Brooklyn. The lighting fixtures above the bar in the dinner tent were crafted from Feed U.S.A. for Target plates and cups.

At a private event hosted by Adidas during the N.B.A.'s All-Star Weekend in 2012, Night Vision Entertainment incorporated the footwear brand's Superstar shoes into an overhead display. To hang the installation, producers attached suspension cords to laces that were tied around the bottom of the shoes.

For Z100's All Access Lounge, a preshow festival for the 2011 Jingle Ball concert, presenting sponsor Coca-Cola incorporated subtle branding into the Hammerstein Ballroom's decor with a hanging installation of Coke cans.

In June, jewelry company Stella & Dot teamed up with liquor brand Midori to host a happy hour event on the rooftop of the London West Hollywood. Small shelves were built into the press wall in order to display emerald green accessories from the line alongside the green-colored booze.

In June, Skyy Vodka hosted Skyy and Sea, the official opening event to New York’s Governors Ball Music Festival, aboard the Hornblower Infinity yacht. The nautical theme was reflected in the event’s step-and-repeat: White shelves held bottles of vodka and branded lifesavers.

Also at the Skyy and Sea event, guests could spin a prize wheel to win items like a hat, a bikini, or sunglasses. The pointers on the wheel were made from empty Skyy bottles.

At a Vogue Eyewear party held in Los Angeles in March to fete the brand’s spring summer campaign, shades were frozen inside blocks of ice along with flowers, making for striking arrangements on bar tops.

Dubbed the Dramatically Different Party, skincare brand Clinique's June 18 bash at New York’s 620 Loft & Garden celebrated its iconic moisturizer. As guests entered, they encountered a hallway lined with more than 4,000 bottles of the 45-year-old lotion.

At a Toronto event marking SodaStream’s partnership with Kraft, held in June, a custom step-and-repeat was made out of shelves filled with artfully arranged products and logos.

In honor of Barbie’s 50th anniversary, Mattel created a real-life version of the doll’s Malibu Dream House where repeating rows of the iconic toy formed an eye-catching wall.

Earlier this year in New Orleans, Jes Gordon designed a Super Bowl party for M&Ms where highboy tables displayed arrangements of roses and eucalyptus nestled in vases filled with the chocolate candies.

At an EBay event in 2009, the centerpiece of the room was a giant chandelier that comprised more than 1,200 items found on the online auctioneer’s Web site.

During the 2010 Super Bowl, Bridgestone stacked its tires to create highboys at the ESPN the Magazine Next Big Weekend party.

At the Marfa Film Festival in Texas in 2010, the We Came In Peace-designed Café Bustelo Filling Station was marked by the coffee brand's yellow-and-red aluminum cans. In addition to using the cans as planters for cacti, the designers crafted them into chandeliers and lighting installations.

At Ecolab's client appreciation party at the National Restaurant Association Show in Chicago in 2010, Kehoe Designs made a registration desk using the cleaning product company's soap dispensers and glass racks from restaurant dishwashers.

Godiva is known for its annual chocolate-themed lounge at InStyle’s Golden Globes after-party, but in 2009 the chocolate brand made a bid for attention on Valentine’s Day with an over-the-top chocolate-covered suite inside New York’s Bryant Park Hotel. Envisioned by interior designer Jonathan Adler and interpreted in chocolate by event producer Larry Abel, the suite featured a lavish display of Godiva products including a mosaic of individual chocolates arranged beneath a glass-topped dining table.

To celebrate the Shops at Target launch in May 2012, the retail giant hosted a party at the IAC Building in New York, for which designer David Stark suspended products from the various collections as decor. For example, doggie treats from Target collaborator Polka Dog Bakery were hung in a spiraled, chandelier-like installation.

Though it didn't have a timepiece on its dinner table, Rolex had its own station in the cocktail reception area, showcasing a variety of watches.